18th Edition

Why so salty ?

The Lead

Unfree will of the people

Robert Sapolsky, a 66-year-old Stanford neurobiologist, has a controversial view on the nature of human existence: he doesn't think "free will" exists. At all. He published his new book “Life without free will“, and subsequently did the usual press tour to talk about it.

His verdict is that almost everything we do boils down to biology, upbringing, circumstance, and whatever curveballs life throws us. Meaning that we are, like every living organism, "biological machines" that react to environmental triggers, not because we make a conscious decision but because we are biologically programmed to react in a certain.

A popular example is the influence of our olfactory epithelium and how it steers our biological attraction (not physical attraction). The one-inch square that is located in our upper nasal cavity consists of receptors and glands that allow us to smell others, and it forwards the pheromones to be interpreted by the olfactory bulbs. There, receptors detect chemicals and transmit an electrical signal transmitted to the brain that tells us good smell / bad smell. That’s why our olfactory epithelium largely interprets and determines who we are attracted to biologically, purely based on smell.

Sapolsky acknowledges that getting rid of the concept of free will completely strikes at our sense of identity and autonomy and where we get meaning from. This is unsettling for many but could be liberating for others. Going back to the pheromone example, some people make conscious decisions when choosing their partner but neglect biological signals because “this is the right person that checks every box”. Only for the physical attraction to fizzle out post-honeymoon period, while the biological attraction was never there. Who’s at fault ? The unconscious biological programming or the willful override of the former for short-term procreational gain - because the person was told to “do the right thing” by their environment ?

So if free will is non-existent, then moral responsibility doesn't exist. How can we take actual ownership of what we do without it becoming a purely mechanical function ?

It’s a thought-provoking book that goes beyond armchair arguments for and against free will but dives deeper into the consequences that acknowledging its absence would have on an individual, interpersonal, and societal level.

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The Interwebs

Ryanair is Roblox’s busiest airline

After years of watching “the metaverse” lead marketers and futurists to bet their entire careers on it, with little to nothing making an impact on people’s lives years later, there has been something quite beautiful happening online. Roblox, the virtual world platform where millions of teenagers spend their spare time, has spawned a virtual airline, Roblox Ryanair. Everyone plays their part, users “work” as pilots, passengers buy tickets and pay for them with the virtual currency Robux.

Here’s the best part, like in the real world, there’s a meta-“reality TV” show documenting the airport and airline that’s now in its fourth season. It’s one of the most brilliant pieces of content I’ve ever seen.

Salty innovation